The best of Sri Lanka’s amateur and professional golfing talent will vie for the title of the country’s champion golfer when the 2018 edition of the RCGC Open tees off in partnership with Altair on August 28.
The tournament, taking place for only the second time in two decades, was revived last year after a lapse of 18 years, with Altair taking on the mantle of principal sponsor.
Welcoming Altair’s decision to reprise its role this year, the Captain of the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) Avancka Herat announced that more than 100 golfers are expected to compete in stroke-play format over the four days of the tournament with the best 30 golfers advancing to the final two days.
“This is the only open golf tournament that is played in Sri Lanka besides the Sri Lanka Open, and we greatly appreciate the generous support of Altair, which led to its revival and continuance”, Herat said at a press conference at the 139-year old club.
Altair Director Pradeep Moraes said: “We are particularly happy to support this tournament, because it extends an opportunity to a wider segment of players to compete against one-another, contributing to the development of the sport. It is open to the best players regardless of club affiliations and membership.”
According to the RCGC, top contenders for this year’s Open include Sri Lanka’s veteran golfers Mithun Perera, Anura Rohana, K. Prabagaran and defending champion N. Thangaraja, currently ranked number one in the tournament.
The RCGC’s resident professional H.L. Premadasa won the championship in its first three years, after which Sri Lanka’s best golfer to date, Nandasena Perera, won it a record seven times.
Club amateurs Pheroze Billimoria and Rusi Captain won it twice and once respectively, while other winners included Jessie Perera and N Thangaraja.